The development of computer systems in general, and the development and expansion of the Internet in particular, has led to many developments in information index and retrieval systems and media content distribution systems. The phrase media content is defined as third party sources that exist independently of this invention, including television, radio, Internet information, print information, print media, professional Journals, expert seminars/presentations, and research. For example, Internet web browsers typically accept user input, perform a search of all media content on the Internet based on a comparison between keywords extracted from the user input and identifying tags associated with the media content, and return hyperlinks to the media content in an order of relevance determined based on a number of successful matches between the user input and the identifying tags. Also, index and retrieval systems of databases and/or cataloging systems typically accept user input, and perform a search of user-specified database(s) or sections thereof based on a comparison between keywords extracted from the user input and text of user-specified sections of media content and/or user-specified sections of media content identification information. These index and retrieval systems typically return hyperlinks to media content and/or identification information directing a user to the media content and/or a source of the media content. The aforementioned and related index and retrieval systems and media content distribution systems, however, have limitations that burden the user.
Chief among the limitations of the aforementioned and related index and retrieval systems is the vast amount of the media content addressed by these systems and consequent difficulty with focusing a search. This limitation leads to information overload. For example, a user browsing the Internet for information on a particular topic relating to a complex field of study encounters difficulty in eliminating media content unrelated to the topic and/or field of study without also eliminating some media content related to the topic and/or field of study. Also, the user browsing the Internet has difficulty eliminating media content of low relevance to the topic or field of study respective to other media content relevant to the topic or field of study. Further, the user browsing the Internet has no option available for eliminating media content of low quality from the search. Finally, even a searcher of a more narrowly focused database encounters these same difficulties due to the fact that portions of the media content are, with few exceptions, generally treated as of equal value within the more narrow focus of the database. The aforementioned difficulties are further exacerbated by additional limitations.
An additional limitation of primary concern is the general lack of identified relationships between media content, and deficiency among a few notable exceptions to both maintain quality of media content and indicate a degree of relevance of media content to a topic of interest and/or other media content. This lack of identified relationships is true for print and electronic media. Among proprietary legal databases, for example, Westlaw's Key Cite/Key Number and Lexis/Nexis's Shepherd's Citations features succeed in indicating relevance and irrelevance of case law to a predefined legal issue and/or other case law. These features fail, however, to select media content based on both quality and relevance, and the result is inclusion of case law cited to other case law that is of low quality and/or entirely irrelevant. Also, the indicated relevance and irrelevance are primarily applied to differentiate cites that are relevant from those that are irrelevant. Further, even where relative degrees of relevance are employed, such as Westlaw's depth of treatment stars, these degrees of relevance merely indicate how one case was treated in another case (mentioned, cited, discussed, or upheld). Thus, these and similar relative degrees of relevance indicators fail to operate to accurately indicate importance of one case to another. Still further, these and similar relative degree of relevance indicators are significantly based on preexisting citation of one case to another, and do not generally incorporate a correlation between related portions of media content based on a logical analysis of the media content that identifies underlying dynamics even where preexisting citations do not exist. Finally, previous linked information systems fail to continuously receive new media content, add it to the system, and use a real time analysis to identify internal dynamics of the information and reevaluate, reselect, and reorganize previously selected information of the system in real time. Internal dynamics is defined as the underlying dynamics of intelligent streams of information that carry meaning at many levels, and which are continuously changing, evolving, and being shaped by the flow of events and/or new insights/discoveries.
The need remains for a media content distribution system that ensures quality and relevance of media content while facilitating user access to desired media content. A solution is required that accurately identifies relevance of media content to topics of interest and to other media content based on a real time analysis of continuously received media content, and organizes the currently relevant information in a manner accessible to users by providing links to information based on the relevance and internal dynamics identified in real time. The present invention provides such a solution.